Scarlet Shocker

I created this guy a couple of weeks back and I'm having a shit ton of fun with it. Initially I just tried it out because I don't have many dominators at all. I think this is my 3rd or 4th ever and I'm unfamiliar with their mechanics, despite having a tonne of experience with controllers. I chose Mind and Rad Assault simply because they seem to be quite difficult for mobs to counter. Mind control is tough for them to resist and Rad debuffs their Def so it makes it even easier to kill. At least that's the theory. So we're now 40, I've just done my Patron pool (thanks to those who joined and helped) and I went with Mako because I really like his arc/personality and the powers that come with it. Leviathan is fun and for me at least adds an interesting dimension to the game Lore, but I appreciate that it isn't always "the best" option to take. I've taken Stealth (which I often do take) not so much for the +Def but for the +Rech and Procs you can mule it with. I'm also combat jump and arcane flight to get around - but the latter could be dispensed with. So here's my dilemma: I've sketched out a mids build but it seems I only have a few powers fully slotted and a whole bunch of 2 slots which seems odd. IT's also likely to be a very expensive build but the stats in mids seem to indicate it'll be a hard bastard once fully slotted and built. BUT... how do I permadom it (do I need to)? What powers are essential to build domination and what powers should I consider the most vital. He is very very end heavy slotted only with SOs - IS that something I can mitigate in his build or will I have to rely on Incarnate powers to solve it? I know mind control reasonably well, my 2nd ever 50 back in 2006 was a mind troller, but I've limited experience of rad assault. All input gratefully received! Thanks in advance.

These ladies would like a word SIG

now then my good man, Ay wish to register a complaint. This 'ere thread is DEAD mate!

I'm mostly holding, rather than immob. It's working very well - I'm enjoying it a lot but I have been distracted by a Red Fedora* *altitis bites - that's a Mind/Rad dominator that is proving to be very very dangerous but sucks end fast!

we call those "pork scratchings" - they are deep fried strips of pig skin, salty and seasoned with various flavourings. Uber unhealthy but sooooooooooooooooooooooooo delicious and almost mandatory with a good pint of ale!

I tend not to start building properly until post-50, so I didn't experience that. I do have my 2nd ever 50, a Mind/Storm which can be devastating so I get how it's not necessarily the power set itself. A lot depends on play style and builds as a work-in-progress but I obviously didn't feel the love for that one enough to keep it going!

I just think that the Goldside content is less relatable for most folks. Personally I feel it's great, but it's less "superhero" and it stops at a low level, it doesn't encourage teamage, and it is tougher per level - especially solo* But I also think the bigger issue is that you can't engage easily with the content, however good it is because you don't know what colour your hat is. Are you a good guy? Are you a bad guy? Where is the moral compass in Praetoria? In Atlas, we know where we are, because we're in the CITY OF HEROES, and similarly with the Rogue Isles, we know what we are getting. But in Praetoria how do you even know what side to pick as an innocent inexperienced player? That's not to say that the content is not brilliant. In fact I'd suggest some of it is outstanding. But it's tough to bond with people, when you don't know what they stand for. You have the Emperor Cole on one hand and some odd guy who runs a resistance group. Even if you know their Primal counterparts, what do they offer you as a player? Going Rogue offered a lot of great stuff, but sadly I think in the area it failed most was the hook. It failed to engage at a visceral level that wanted you to go back and re-experience the content. That's made worse when it's so easy to run from 1-20+ in Atlas then switch sides at the snap of a finger and I think Homecoming and Score are partly responsible for that. So in the end we got an expansion that everyone wanted and never played. *for good reason - Original Devs wanted to make content that was harder for more experienced players

Fire/TA is great. I played one on live and it's the only Fire toon I could stick! It solves one of the biggest issues with TA in lighting OSA - you have the power at your fingertips literally where most other sets require a bit of thought. So although not insuperable, it does give you a bit of extra leeway. Others have mentioned that TA is range and fire is melee, but that's never been a problem for me, since as someone who began with blasters I found that I start at range and then move in to get up close and personal once my foes are flailing. Your play style may vary but I found that I could debuff things, lock them down, then move in for the kill with my imps and hot feet.

I've played almost all the primaries to 50, with only 2 exceptions, where I've dabbled but not gone all the way; Gravity and Ice Control. As far as secondaries I've never really gone far with Empathy, Forcefield, Pain Domination & Nature, Electrical or Dark Affinity. I LOATHE Sonic Resonance as a power and Forcefield seems pretty redundant in the game these days Of course there's 160 odd combinations of potential controllers as things stand currently, so I'm thinking I'd enjoy something a bit different, I just can't think of what, nor a theme to go with it. So... over to you; What should I play, why and where would it fit in this rich pantheon of Heroes, Villains, Rogues and Vigilantes?

It's in the 30s now and I'm going to say it's a LOT of fun. Very strong and durable, with a good mix of powers. Highly recommended. I like Dark control as a set and I love TA but not everything synergises as well as this. Once it's at 50 and slotted my prediction is it's going to have a great deal going for it

I seem to remember running one on live, but from memory - and it's difficult because my only real recollection is that it was painfully slow - is that it was excruciatingly slow. Sure, I could lock down a room solo, but actually killing (*cough* sorry defeating) mobs was a challenge even with the Prestige powers and other bags of tricks (though I never used the temps from P2W) Strong, but needed a team to get the best out of, and IIRC it didn't make it to 50, I think being one of those that faded into oblivion in the high 40s.

I did try a few times to get some teamage together goldside, and those attempts failed spectactularly with less of a whimper than the dampest squib. That might be me, perhaps my eau du cologne doesn't suit, or perhaps it's gold side, which seems to get less player love than even the reddest zones. More likely it's just that people tend to stick with what they know and they already have stuff going on, and not that many people seem to enjoy running actual content consistently these days. That said if you wanted to team, you're welcome to find me (mostly on Everlasting) and my global is @Riff - if I'm not busy I'll gladly accompany you on the road less travelled, especially if it involves bashing the heads of goody two-shoes heroes!

Served with a side order of glorious porpoise?

I feel the same. When a GM asks the question we know the mechanics are complex. But that kinds of vindicates my confusion so I don't feel so bad about it.

I actually knew you have a kind of savoury breakfast biscuit thingy. It sounds pretty tasty actualy but I've never tried one! Also, the PERFECT snack to go with games & beer:

I've played on all four servers. I did spend a lot of time on Excelsior but I found it mostly people hanging in the Pocket D AE, so I've gone from there to Everlasting. Redside is not as empty as you think there and if you shout out you'll often get a team quickly enough

Biscuit: This is a Cracker Cookie (actually I'm in agreement with most of what you said there but your version of biscuit we'd call a scone)

Seems a lot of you went to Champs and DCUO. Nobody mentioned the Marvel MMO written by Bendis based on Diablo. Personally I couldn't ever get into it. I did try pretty well all the MMOs mentioned but I never found something as good as CoH. The only MMO that came close was TSW, which had an amazing story, great graphics, and unique skill wheels, but best of all IMO was the mission system, which was unique and interesting. The biggest issue with it was the difficulty level and the fact it was based on the trinity of tank, dps and heals which I personally found boring. By the time they'd stopped it being hardcore the game was already on its knees and even relaunching as Secret World Legends didn't save it which is kind of sad because conceptually it rocked. MWO was and remains fantastic IF (big caveat) you enjoy PVP and are prepared to drop cash into it to get the best mechs. But it does even now have a good community backed up by solid lore and gameplay, but it's incredibly different to trad MMOs

I guess this has been asked before, but I am curious. I went to The Secret World and Mech Warrior Online, and coincidentally I just popped back to MWO to discover it's had an unfortunate cataclysmic issue which has almost entirely disrupted gameplay for most players. I won't detail it because this isn't about fails (in fact quite the opposite - I really enjoy MWO and hope it recovers very soon. Sadly the same is unlikely of SWL as it's now known) but I am aware both my alternatives were markedly different from CoH. It got me wondering what most of you chose, did you go for something as similar as possible or quite unlike?

Those are not chips. Those are crisps. These are chips. They are not French. They do not come from France. They are chips and they are British They are served with salt and vinegar and sometimes they are battered. Like this: What you are snacking on are crisps. This is a hill I will die on!

seems like a good cause! 👍

Staff melee has a trident option

There has always been some really sloppy writing in this game. Some of it is (and remains) truly dire. But that's true of almost any game, and there are very few that have truly outstanding content from start to finish. But rather than focus on the dross it's important to remind ourselves of the truly excellent content this game offers, some of which is as good as any I've encountered in any game, anywhere... and I've been gaming since I bought my Spectrum 48k so that gives you some indication of what I've tasted. When the game launched there was a need to take time out of the game to disguise the lack of content. Remember running everywhere before we'd got travel powers, or hovering across the Hollows to avoid their pitfalls? Having to run back to Atlas from the Hollows to level or hospital. It's the same thing... and if that doesn't satisfy you, ask yourself two things: Why do you keep playing this game and if you weren't playing that mission, what else would you be doing? Don't worry about it - you have a very special gift right here and you can always go play different content once you've clicked those glowies!

SoonTM